


do it rat now

by haleofStilesheart



Series: Destiel Emoji Prompts [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Adorable Castiel (Supernatural), Bickering, Canon-Typical Violence, Case, Castiel (Supernatural) Loves Animals, Dean is a Sweetheart, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hamsters, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Post-Season/Series 11, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-12-24 10:05:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12010461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haleofStilesheart/pseuds/haleofStilesheart
Summary: After killing a witch that was sacrificing animals, Dean finds Cas sitting on the floor cuddling a...rat?





	do it rat now

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ask-will-solace](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=ask-will-solace).



> For the emoji prompt:

"Is that a fucking rat?" Dean demanded, his voice high pitched with disbelief and pure confusion.

Cas was sitting cross-legged on the tile floor, the tails of his trench coat spread out behind him. There was a soft smile on his face, peaceful and happy, and a rip in the front of his white button up, but most importantly, there was a fucking rat in his hands.

It was orange with splotches of white, like a calico without the black spots, and had beady little black eyes that immediately reminded Dean of all the demons they had ganked in the past. Its ears were rounded and had the same tinge of dusty pink that its nose and paws did, white whiskers twitching. He couldn't see its wormy tail, figuring the little varmint had it tucked beneath himself.

Yet despite the fact that he had a dirty rodent cupped in his hands, Cas seemed perfectly content. He was actually smiling down at the filthy little creature, cooing at it under his breath like it was an infant.

"No, Dean. It's not a rat," Cas answered, stroking a hand down the animal's back. Glancing up at Dean, smile still brightening his face, he corrected, "It's a hamster."

"Uh, okay..." Dean drawled, "What's the difference?"

Cas had the nerve to roll his eyes at Dean, which Dean guessed he deserved since he had been a complete asshole for the past two days. Cases involving witches always did that to him.

They were in Arkansas, in a picturesque town called Bella Vista. It was lush and green with several lakes and creeks and even a handful of small waterfalls.

With spring melting the snow, the town was in full bloom, blossoming flowers and budding trees filling the countryside with green. Goldenrod and honeysuckle added splashes of yellow to contrast the purple of violets and coneflower.

But as serene as the town was, full of people fishing and camping and enjoying their retirement, there had been a dark secret lurking. That secret had been the work of a witch named David Arlott.

A Bella Vista native, David had been dabbling in black magic since his junior year of community college. Apparently, an ex-girlfriend of his had introduced him to the nefarious art.

When she had broken up with him, he had decided to use the magic she had taught him to target what she cared about most. That just so happened to be animals.

So what had David done? Gotten a job at a local pet store where he had his pick of cute and fluffy animals to slaughter just for the fun of it.

They had caught the case after stumbling onto an article on a conspiracy theory site that had put together a collage of newspaper clippings detailing the mutilated animal carcasses that had been found in the past several years. The runes etched into the animals' skulls despite a lack of injuries to their heads was what convinced Dean that it was a real case rather than a run of the mill incident of psychopaths in training practicing for slicing people up.

Finding the witch hadn't taken very long since there were only two pet stores and one no kill animal shelter in town. The ensuing fight with him had lasted much longer.

David turned out to be rather proficient in using magic offensively, binding Sam's arms and legs together while he kept slamming Dean against walls and animal cages. But he hadn't anticipated Dean and Sam showing up with a bona fide angel which turned out to be a fatal mistake.

A hand on the witch's forehead and two burned out eyes later, Dean was gawking at said angel as he cuddled a rat after burning the witch's body with Sam out back.

"Aside from the fact they're not the same species, there are many differences between rats and hamsters," Cas explained placidly, dropping his eyes to focus on the ball of fluff in his hands. Stroking the hamster with gentle, barely there touches, as though worried he might hurt it, he went on, "For example, rats are nearly twice as large as hamsters. And there is the noticeable difference between their tails. Rats ha—"

Dean held up a hand to stop him, getting his attention by clearing his throat. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed, "Rhetorical question, dude."

"My apologies," Cas replied immediately, as per usual when he realized that he had mistakenly taken either Sam or Dean too literally. He didn't explain any further, earning another sigh from Dean.

"And _why_ are you holding a ra—" he quickly corrected himself when Cas sent him a look "—Hamster. Why are holding a hamster?"

"It was frightened," Cas relayed, moving to pet the hamster under its chin. The hamster let out a happy little squeak. "He was terrified when the witch threw you against his cage."

"Geez, my bad," Dean scoffed, rolling his eyes. He had been a bit preoccupied fighting the witch off to worry about getting some hamster's panties in a twist.

"I simply wanted to offer some comfort," Cas continued on, completely ignoring Dean's sarcasm. He beamed down at the hamster while softly claiming, "I've always enjoyed the company of animals."

Dean immediately caught Cas' drift. He was quick to shut it down before Cas could give him those big puppy dog eyes that could make Dean agree to anything. Shaking his head, he announced, "No, no, no. We are not getting a hamster."

"Of course not," Cas answered easily as if Dean had been the one campaigning for it. He rose to his feet, moving to return the hamster to its cage where the ball of orange and white made a beeline to its water bottle. Glancing over at Dean, he elaborated "It's not practical to have a hamster running around the Bunker. A dog would be a much better fit."

"No, we are not getting a dog!" Dean barked, incredulous as Sam re-entered the pet store, an empty gas can in his left hand. How the hell had Cas made the leap from a hamster to a dog was a mystery to him.

"Sam, tell him!" Dean entreated, whipping his head around to look at his brother, raising his brows pleadingly. Sam knew how weak Dean was for those big baby blues of Cas'. Practically begging, he reiterated, "Tell him we can't get a dog."

"I dunno," Sam said with a shrug as he wanted over to a cage holding a smoky gray cat. He looked over at Dean as the cat rubbed its cheek against his fingers, dissenting, "I think getting a dog would be nice."

"What?!" Dean squawked. There was no other word to describe the incredulous noise that erupted from his throat. "You can't be serious! A dog?!"

"It wouldn't be entirely unfeasible," Cas pointed out with a downright angelic smile. He took a few steps closer to Dean, holding Dean's gaze as he launched into an explanation, "We haven't been doing a quarter as much hunting as we did before. Supernatural activity has died down drastically. We would be able to take care of a dog. And if we went out on hunts, I don't imagine it would be too difficult to find a petsitter I believe the term is."

Okay, Cas had a point. Several points. And they were pretty damn solid.

To be honest, Dean didn't really hate the idea of a dog as much as he thought he would. It would be nice to have a pet, something as undyingly loyal as his brother and his best friend.

And Cas was looking at him with those big hopeful eyes like he wanted the moon and only Dean could pluck it out of the sky for him.

"Ugh, fine!" He conceded with a heavy sigh, throwing his arms up dramatically. "We can check out one of the shelters when we get back to Kansas. But I'm not making any promises."

"Good enough for me," Sam remarked, clapping Dean on the shoulder. That said, he turned on his heel and walked back out of the pet store.

"Thank you, Dean," Cas murmured, tipping his head to lay a kiss on Dean's freckled cheek. He followed Sam's lead, glancing over his shoulder back at Dean as he pushed the door open. "By the way, the hamster called you an asshole. I'm glad to see you've proven him wrong."

**Author's Note:**

> I realized after I wrote this that Cas' newest trench coat isn't long enough for it to have tails but just go with it.
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr [here,](http://hale-of-stiles-heart.tumblr.com/) maybe send me a prompt or two!


End file.
